Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1887-05-14
RESCUE OF The LOST MAIDEN. =
BY REV. d. SHERMAN, d. d.

~
ly equaled in marvellous coinciden-
ces even in the annals of fiction.
Without following the captains
order, the outline of the story is here
given.
Hans, a main character in it, was
born in humble condition, in Swed-
en-. A bright, active, afiectionate lad,
his parents intended to aid him to Sc
cure an education. At the country
school, where he made rapid progress
he formed more intimate acquain-
lance with Fleda, the daughter of
neighbor, a beautiful girl with rud-
dy cheeks, blue eyes and tlaXen
hair. Often in each others society
at their homes and in school, they
grew SO gradually into sympathyand
affection as hardly to know when or
how their attachment commenced.
A rude and unexpected event reveal
ed the depth and tenderness of their
devotion to each other. The remOv-
al of her family to Moscow, took
Fleda quite beyond the reach of her
young admirer. For Il season the
lovers, now well along in their teens,
kept up a knowledge of each other.
At length the family made another
move to Odessa on the Black Sea,
where all trace Of them was lost by
Hans. The head of the house, hon
ored by the Russian government,
accumulated wealth, and was APP
pointed consul of Odessa. In their
new situation Fleda enjoyed rare OPP
portunities for education, which
were improved to the utmost, and
she became fine scholar, especially
in the languages, several Of which
she wrote and spoke with ease-an
accomplishment which proved valu-
able to her father in his relations
with different nations.
But of the good fortune Of Fleda
after leaving Moscow. Hans knew
nothing. No word came back. But
for a long while he thought of the
aaXen-haired maiden by day, and at
night dreamed Of her return to greet
him and renew her assurances of in
terest and attachment. Alas it was
a dream. To him she could hence
forth be only memory buta mem
DRY long as real and impressive as
life itself. In fadeless vision her
form and features floated in the
atmosphere of his imagination, long
after her name had ceased to be
spoken in the household.
At length it was noticed that Hans
interest in study and daily duty grew
less and less intense. The body was
in Sweden, the heart in the distant
east. In these pensive and dreamy
hours, the old viking blood began tC
stir in his veins. Nothing but the
open sea could allay. the unrest o
his spirit, and he, like so many o
his ancestors, fastened away to sea
We pass over years. A noble man
true to duty and with growing skill
in sea-craft, Hans rose in the service
waking up one morning to find him
self captain.
In an early voyage to the Mediter
ranean, he could not deny himsel
the pleasure of visiting Odessa to oh
tain, if possible, some trace of tn
missing family, and especially of tn
maiden. Though the probabilitie
were all against success, the vision
beckOned him on. Though that en-
chanted life had probably vanished
from earth or been devoted to anoth
er, he could not restrain his longing
to see once more, or to obtain trace OF
an object so dear to him. Once il
Odessa, he searched in vain. n
one had heard the name. But h
did not despair. Love knows no dc
feat. On touching at length at tn
consulate, he found those who ha
known the consul; but he had gon
six years before to Alexandria i
Egypt.
Though the probabilities of fndin
him grew less, Hans determined t
renew the search for the consul an
he was finally successful, in ascel
tanning that he had established hin
self as corn merchant in AleXa1
dria. In prosecuting his business
he often passed into the less secul
parts of the country, invariably a
companied by his daughter. On or
Of these mercantile rounds, the
were encountered by band of Arab
the men in the party were slain, an
the women divided among the maral
ders. The sale of Fleda to militar
chief was the last aScprtoinohIo trot